Mark of a Malfoy
by GraeHound
Summary: Harry formed his impression of the Malfoy family during his run-in with Lucius. What if he had met a different Malfoy family? One that's blessed with guidance and wisdom for its canonical members. One that strives to protect and love its members, no matter what. One that contains a wise older son and a kind younger daughter. [Rated for mild language, mild Ron bashing]
1. Chap 1-1: Distress in Diagon

**DISCLAIMER: Harry Potter ownership? I wish. I did make Clavius and Ophelia, though**

This is, at the moment, a small experiment. This is my first FanFiction and I want to see if people like it.

Please, give this a review. I wanna see your opinions. I welcome constructive criticism. Toxic people, you do you.

This was originally going to become a Multi-Chapter, but I decided to see if people are keen of the idea.

Without further adieu, though, I hope you do enjoy my reading work.

\- Grae

* * *

"Oh look Potter," Malfoy mocked, "you got yourself a girlfriend."

Harry had to admit that although he wanted to hex the boy more than he did his cousin, he had actually changed quite a bit. Draco, while still similar age to him, had grown much over the summer and seemed to look down on him more than just figuratively. His blondness, while short, was straight and proper and his confident demeanor was accompanied by a prideful posture. His voice had deepened from his first year squeak, but still remained high enough to maintain that stuck-up tone he spoke with. He was, for sure, the same Malfoy.

Well, that was before a hand was laid on his shoulder, and all eyes turned to the person at Draco's side.

Physically he looked the same age as the twins, but had surpassed them in height difference. He, like Draco, had the pale skin and the blonde hair. He, like Draco, had the grey eyes and the straight back. He, like Draco, had the refined look of the Malfoys.

"Really, Draco?" He spoke, his voice struck with a disapproving tone and he shook his head, "What have I told you about causing a ruckus in public?" He turned his attention to the messy-haired boy in front of him, who looked right back. The stranger's voice was much deeper than Draco's, and seems to carry a weight. His eyes, while just as grey, somehow seemed so much older than they should be, as he had years of maturity behind them. He had a muscular, yet slender build and his hair was slightly longer than Draco's.

"Harry Potter." He let out, a quiet and interested tone to his words. He looked Harry up and down, and then proceeded to introduce himself. "I don't believe we've formally met," he smirked as he held out a hand in greeting, "Clavius Malfoy, Eldest of the Malfoy kin."

Harry took his hand, despite the clear signs from his friends not to. He regretted his decision when he was pulled forward so that the two were barely an inch apart. Clavius' features went cold, and he looked deep into Harry's eyes.

"We make quick work of our enemies, Potter." He warned "Be thankful you're not one of them. Yet."

It was then that a small voice could be heard saying "Clay.." And the eldest brother let Harry go promptly, fixing his posture and soothing his button-down shirt. Harry's attention turned to Clavius' legs, only to find a small blonde girl no older than Ginny clutching his left. She had the mark of the Malfoy; her long plait was blonde and her skin was like snow. Her grey eyes, however, were much warmer and had a sort of kindness to them. This was until she noticed his stares and they became nervous, hiding herself behind her eldest protector.

"I see we must introduce another person." He spoke, though with a much warmer tone than previous. Even Draco couldn't help but smile with genuine affection. "This little one," he said while gently ushering her forward "is Ophelia, the youngest of our siblings. This year will be her first at Hogwarts, much like your youngest. Who knows, perhaps they may find camaraderie in their time at school together." He said. The shock that came from the statement was very clear on everyone's faces, just as Draco's conveyed only disgust at such a suggestion. Ophelia and Ginny didn't seem to be disgusted or surprised, instead blushing slightly at being the subject of everyone's strange expressions. Why was a Malfoy not only disclosing this information conversationally, but even suggesting that a Malfoy and Weasley could be friends?

"Ophelia," came a new voice off to the side, "like from Shakespeare's Hamlet." Hermione was standing right next to Draco, but looked directly at Clavius. Her expression was hardened in anticipation of insults to be thrown her way. Harry could even see in her eyes she was already thinking of some good comebacks.

"Indeed." Was his response "And let me guess, your name is Hermione Granger. Yes, Draco did mentioned you. Actually, he mentions you quite frequently." He smirked upon seeing a tint of red upon Draco's scowling face, and it only grew upon seeing the confusion on everyone else's.

"I don't know why you think our sister would be friends with a Malfoy," Ron said heatedly, "if your baby ferret were any paler we'd all be blinded by now, like the Ministry was during your dad's hearing."

Both Malfoy boys visibly tensed, a hateful fire burning in their eyes. Ophelia, on the other hand, shrunk back into her brother, clearly hurt at his remark. Both Harry and Hermione shot Ron a disapproving look, but the damage was already done.

"Watch your tongue, Weasel!" Draco spat, words thick with venom, "Speak of her like that again and you'll be living Saint Mungo's for the rest of your life."

At this, the Weasleys banded together. Fred and George stood behind Ron, arms crossed, while Percy stood in his little sister the same way Clavius did his own. Draco responded by moving away from the shelves and took his place next to Clavius. Harry instinctively took to Ron's side, though he really didn't want this big a fight happening in Flourish and Blott's. Hermione stayed to the side, looking frantic at what was about to unfold.

"How dare you speak of her in that manner." Clavius almost shouted, his voice filled with an icy rage, "You thinking that your insults towards an innocent girl makes you strong just shows how weak you really are, you pathetic vermin." Ron's ears reddened at the remark, but Percy was the one to talk next.

"Back off, Malfoy." He said, wand at the ready, "He may have acted rashly, but if you have a problem one of us, you get all of us."

"The whole lot." The twins jeered in unison. Draco shot daggers at them, while Clavius kept his dark glare on Percy. They wouldn't take this from anyone, especially the Weasleys. Harry glanced over to Hermione, who glanced right back. They didn't think this would end well.

"You would defend him?" Clavius questioned, outraged. Draco just laughed bitterly, shaking his head.

"Of course they would, Clavius," he said, eyeing the lot of them, "they're a pack of bloody rodents. Don't think you're so noble, Weasel." He move swiftly and was then face to face with Ron, which took him by surprise, "Everyone knows you only stick with Potter for his wealth, and that your grades would be more unstable than your barn-of-a-house if you hadn't begged Granger to somehow be friends with you."

"That's not true, I didn't beg" he retorted a little to quickly, caught off guard by the comments "I didn't even ask her to-" He suddenly stopped after guiltily realising the implications of his sentence, and saw hurt flash across Hermione's chocolate eyes. Draco smiled at this, but the twins jumped in to his recovery.

"Your one to talk about friends for fortunes," Fred scoffed. Draco looked up at the two.

"If you paid your family friends any more the entire economy would collapse" George finished, leaning into his personal space a little to much. Draco scowled as he moved back.

"At least our family has more Galleons then children." Clavius entered, a devilish smirk upon his lips, "More than I can say for yours. Pity your parents can't keep their hands off each other, you might have a knut of inheritance to your name."

That put all of their hairs on end, and Harry could see a fight was almost immanent. He turned to the others saying "Cmon, guys. It's not worth it. Let's all just calm down." But it was no use, they were too riled up. Draco lifted his wand slightly, ready to send out the first hex, when a voice came from behind him.

"Clay, Dray, please stop." Ophelia pleaded, scared of the rising tension, "I don't want you two to get hurt. I don't want anyone to.. Oh Draco, please. It was just an insult. Please s-stop, Clay, I d-don't…" She was now clearly distressed, hot tears forming in her eyes.

"All of you, stop it." Hermione demanded, "Look what this is doing to her." Her brother's saw the panic and, beside themselves in disappointed anger, begrudgingly put their wands away.

The tension was, in the Malfoy's opinion, thicker than Ron's troglodytic excuse of a skull. Almost. They weren't just going to leave without a proper ending, but Clavius had higher priorities than retribution.

"Draco, take Lia to the Leaky Cauldron. We'll be leaving soon." Clavius said, eyes focuses on the Weasley's and his voice hard as rock.

"I want to help you." Draco responded, determination and anger mixing in his tone. "I can handle-"

"I will not tolerate defiance." Clavius said in a hushed shout "Get to the Cauldron, now!"

Draco, after hesitating, gave the other side a scornful look, took Ophelia by the hand and left the bookstore, muttering "God damn Weasels.." Worried cries could be heard from the small girl's lips as the two departed. It was at that moment a cautious looking Mr Weasley came into the scene.

"Children, everything alright here?" He asked, trying to defuse tension. Clavius didn't look impressed.

"I had hoped the incompetence your family was just another of my father's hyperbolic opinions, Mr Weasley." He said seriously, "but from the unprovoked slights at my innocent little sister, I'd say he's spot on."

Harry hadn't met Draco's father, but he could tell by the looks on his friends' faces that he wasn't someone to call his opinions 'ridiculous'. Mr Weasley, despite his ears reddening slightly at the insult, had noticed this as well, but continued on anyway.

"Well, may I say while I'm sure you and your brother may have both had your share of insulting my family, I'm am sorry for what happened with your sister." He shot his boys a disappointed and disapproving look, which made them hang their heads. "If it's any consolation I will make sure they are punished appropriately. You needn't worry about them again." Harry and Hermione, while they would take they Weasley's side in any fight, had to agree with Mr Weasley on this one.

Clavius' expression remained unreadably blank. "Be that as it may, Mr Weasley," he continued, "if your brood ever decide to pick on her again, you will be hearing from us. She was very close to breaking down from the hate, and it won't happen again. Not on my watch." He turned his back on the group, ready to walk out the door, when he turned his head to the side. He turned just enough to see Ginny, and looked at her with a serious, yet mellowed expression.

"Do yourself a favour, don't be like your ginger-biscuit of a brother. Be better."

And with that he was out the door, turning into the crowd of magical folk to find the Leaky Cauldron. At his exeunt, the Weasley children start talking amongst themselves, commenting on the interaction between them and the Malfoys and slapping Ron on the back of head. Harry and Hermione got together and began to discuss the recent event.

"I can't believe what just- I didn't even know Draco had siblings." Hermione started, still taking in the recent events of the bookstore. Harry nodded in agreement.

"I think I've seen the older one, Clavius, in Hogwarts." Harry told her, "His sister, on the other hand, I've never seen before. Do you think they'll cause us trouble this year?"

Hermione lifted her eyes, the cogs in her brain starting their motion "Well I don't think Ophelia will be any problem. She seems much more timid than her brothers, and she's more than likely to be busy finding how she fits in the social structure and seeking friendships than anything else. If she becomes friends with Ginny, like her brother suggested, she may even be an ally. Clavius, however," she looked towards where he ran off, then turned her head towards Ron, who was guiltily getting berated by Percy, "well Draco will more than likely be out for revenge. But Clavius doesn't seem to be completely like him. I think we'll be safe for now, but getting tangled up with his siblings will cause him to come down on us. I think that we'll be fine as long as we keep involvement of Draco and Ophelia to an absolute minimum."

Harry simply blinked at her explanation and Hermione laughed at his dumbfoundedness. "That was some serious stuff." He managed to say, a smile on his face, "You took that very seriously."

"Well that Clavius is a very serious person. I wonder what he meant when he said 'be better' to Ginny." Hermione thought to Harry. He looked at the small ginger girl who was talking to her dad, and wondered what was planned for her.

"I don't know what he's trying to do, but once we get to Hogwarts we'll figure out his plan. We always do." He said, determined to deal with the trials ahead. Hermione nodded and they followed the rest out into Diagon Alley.

"So," Harry started with a smirk "'mentioned you quite frequently', hmm?"

"Shut up, Harry." She joked, though couldn't help a blush rise to her cheeks.

* * *

In another part of Diagon Alley, the Malfoy's were departing from private room in the Inn, supplies and assortments already sent through.

"Are we all ready?" Narcissa Malfoy asked her children, a pot of floo powder in hand. The others were still disgruntled from the encounter with the Weasley clan, and Draco was still upset about having been told to leave.

"You go with Lia, mother." Clavius told her, kissing her cheek, "me and Dray need to talk about some things."

She cast a concerned eye over her boys, but nodded understandingly. "Come along, Ophelia dear. Daddy's waiting at home to help you with your school supplies." Forming a smile at the mention of her father, she took her mother's hand and they disappeared in a burst of green fire.

"Why'd you make me leave?" Draco asked rather hotly, not wasting any time. "I could have helped you, you know. I'm not afraid of those Weasley idiots."

"Must we do this, Draco?" Clavius sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in an exasperated manner, "I've already had to deal with those ginger imbeciles, I don't want to have to deal with you."

Draco was now getting much angrier, built up from somewhere inside him. "I'm sick of you treating me like a weakling. You always do this, always!" he said with a raised voice, his restrain failing him, "Even more so I'm sick of you letting people get away. They said those things about OUR family, and you just let them have it? I can be strong, just let me prove it!"

"Prove it how?" Clavius retorted, his patience wearing extremely thin, "By hitting lower than they do? By acting more idiotic or taunting them until you throw hexes? This isn't about being stronger than them, Draco, nor is it about proving we're better than them. It's about protecting the family. You wanting to make people feel like dirt to prove your 'stronger' causes collateral damage on the rest of us, including Lia. She has a kinder and gentler soul than either of us are and I will not let her get hurt because of your ignorant bigoted naivety!" His last words were shouted with great ferocity and the younger of the two became ashen, dropping his head.

"I-I'm sorry, Clay. I just wanted.. I just.." He let out a shaky sigh and kept his head low, attempting to hide the wetness in his eyes, "I just wanted to p-prove myself to you. I'm tired of people h-hating us and.." He lifted his head to see a comforting smile from his brother and was quick to embrace him tightly. "I don't want Lia to be hurt. When he said those things about her and father I.."

"I know, Draco. I know." His brother said to the top of his head. He let go so Clavius could kneel down to his level. "And despite everything, I am proud of you." A small smile perched itself on Draco's lips, and the two made their way back to Malfoy Manor.

They were greeted by their parents, who didn't push on their conversation. Draco waved as he went out back with his father to practice quidditch. He wanted to be on the team this year, much to his family's delight. Clavius made his way towards the family living room, where his mother and sister were talking about Hogwarts.

"Is it true they have a three headed doggy?" Ophelia asked, her head tilted in curiosity. Her mother became wide-eyed at her question, wondering what prompted the query and deciding to ask Lucius about it. Clavius suppressed a laugh and answered for her

"No, it unfortunately doesn't. I do know, however, that Hagrid has a dog called Fang. He's the game keeper and really likes animal." He said. It put a joyful expression on her young face, followed by a enthusiastic"I love doggies! I wonder if he'll let me see him? I hope he does!" She had always loved animals.

After a few hours evening had arrived, and everyone was ready for a good night 's head tiredly lay against her eldest brother's arm as they sat on the living room couch. He covered her in a woolen blanket, ready to leave her to sleep when she spoke.

"Why do people have to be so mean?" She asked sleepily, "I don't want to people to hate me…"

He looked at his sister, the pupil of eye expanding ever so slightly. "It's not your fault, Lia," he told her, "and it's certainly not something to be ashamed of. Embrace it. Soon you'll have to face more criticism, you'll need to be strong. When the time comes, though, I know you'll be ready. Facing the fire is something our line has always needed to do, and we are naturally stubborn." He stroked her hair, scared and proud for his little Lia. "It is the fate of our family, it is the honour of our house." She looked into his grey eyes with a faint smile and finished his sentence.

"It is the mark of a Malfoy"


	2. Chap 1-2: Snake among Lions

**DISCLAI**\- Just kidding, I'm not bothering to that in every chapter.

Welcome to chapter 2 of my little project! I was going to post this two days ago but I forgot about it. Sorry, but Stranger Thing bing was too important.

Thank you for those of you who followed, favorited and reviewed! Thank you to a _certain person_ who sent this to people when I specifically asked not. _Smh_.

Anyway, this chapter may give you a little insight into the Malfoy family and show off the first friends that

* * *

Ginny sat with Ron's friend Hermione and her friend Neville. Ginny really liked Hermione and admired her hard-working brain, even if it came off as being a bit standoffish. Neville seemed alright, even if he was shy and a bit clumsy. She was shy herself, and especially clumsy around Harry Potter. She looked out the window of the train car and onto the parent-filled platform, trying to see if her brother and Harry were still there.

"I wonder where Harry and Ron are." Hermione said, voicing Ginny's thoughts, "The trains about to leave and they're still not here. If they've gone to the front so they can buy sweets before the rest of us-"

"I'm sure they'll be here soon," Neville assured her, holding his pet toad, Trevor, on his lap and patting his head. Their doubts grew, however, as the station started moving left, family and friends waving the students off for another year at Hogwarts.

It had been about ten minutes since they had left the station, longer than Harry and Ron needed to find their friends and Hermione thought it was time to do something.

"I'm going to go look for them," Hermione said, turning her attention to the young Weasley, "you two can stay if you want." Ginny shook her head.

"No, I'll come as well. I need to go to the loo anyway." The three decided to leave Neville to hold the cabin while Hermione and Ginny split up and looked for the two boys. Hermione headed towards the engine, while Ginny headed for the caboose. She walked up to the very end of the train, looking in compartment cabins and asking people, but it was to no avail. She decided to make her way back when about halfway she caught a familiar sound.

"Draco, pleeease? I promise I'll be careful. I'll even polish it afterward!" Came a pleading young voice from inside one of the booths. Ginny peered into the room and, upon realizing who they were, quickly hide as best she could while still getting a good look.

"Lia, I've told you already," Draco told his sister, who crossed her arms in frustration. "Not only would it cause Clay to rip my head off and tell mother and father, but it's also against the rules. You'll have to wait until next year."

"Since when do you have a problem breaking the rules?" She sarcastically argued back, which lead to a giggle after seeing his unamused expression. He swabbed her on the top of the head with his wand, causing a half-laughing "Ow" to escape her lips. It was his turn to smirk.

"Well, that's what you get for being a rascal." Draco joked, causing laughter from both of them.

"So I'm the rascal?" She said, eyebrow raised, "then maybe we should talk about those shenanigans you were up to last year, hmm?"

"Oh just wait till I tell Clay about what you're up to." Draco smiled, head shaking. "At this rate, Slytherin seems like the only-" he paused upon noticing red hair and brown eyes poking behind the cabin's glass and heard a gasp that caused him to move for the door. He opened up to see a wide-eyed, slightly frightened girl in a sleeved shirt and jumper. His hard eyes, to begin with, softened by the tiniest amount. Ginny expected him to be saying 'Sod off, Weasel. We don't want Blood-traitors around here', but that's not what happened.

"Weasley, I presume." He said, his voice firm but not unkind. She nodded very quickly for such a small thing but didn't do much else. Draco walked out of the cabin and waved next to Ophelia, who raised an eyebrow at his actions. "Sit down, if you wish. I'm going to go look for my friends. I'll probably see you at the castle, then." He smiled towards his sister, who looks to be missing her brother already. "See you at sorting, can't wait for you."

Once Draco left the compartment the girls were left in awkward silence. They two avoided eye contact for a moment but closed on each other, brown to grey. Upon seeing how nervous the other was they saw how ridiculous they were and shared a few seconds of laughter before Ginny sat down across from this new girl.

"I guess we haven't properly met, then." Ginny started, deciding that an introduction would help kick off the two.

"No, I guess not," Lia said, a nervous laugh coming for her smile. She brought her hand, stuck her nose up and spoke in a very posh voice when saying "Ophelia Andromeda Aquila Malfoy, youngest of the Malfoy scions."

"Charmed" Ginny said through her laughter, shaking the girl's hand courteously. "Ginny," she said, placing her arms to her hips, "Ginny M. Weasley. The youngest and prettiest child in the Weasley clan. Well, second behind my brother Bill." They both fell into a small fit of laughs and continued to chat for the rest of the ride. They talked about how excited they were for Hogwarts, about the lessons and Hagrid the gamekeeper's possible animal friends. It turned into about how they love spending time with their dads and how they wanted to play quidditch more than anything. Ginny quickly realized that, despite their families, the two had a lot in common. The conversation then turned into houses.

"My family members are in Gryffindor, and I have six older brothers." Ginny started, eating the end of a licorice wand they had bought from the trolley lady. "If I was put into another house, I think they might be a little disappointed. They'd still be happy, though, as long as it's not Slytherin."

"Hmm.." Lia sighed, her smile becoming faint while she looked out the window in thought. Ginny became worried she had struck a nerve and closed her lips firmly, shrinking slightly. "My family is the same, but the opposite. Everyone in my family has been in Slytherin, for generations. Thing is, though, I don't think I'm cut out for it." Her voice was quiet, and she held a sad, slightly worried, look in her eye. "I want to be with my brothers, but I don't think I can be like them. I've always been different then Draco and Clavius, I can never be as confident or as strong as they are. I hate getting into fights and people being angry at me. Clavius' says it's a good thing, that it's important, but I don't want them to-"

"I don't know your family well at all," Ginny interrupted, moving to sit next to Lia instead of opposite her, "and before recently I would say they'd disown you. But both your brothers allow, one even encouraging, a possible friendship with one of the Weasleys, who have been your family's enemy for ages, must prove something, doesn't it?"

"But what I don't get in? What if it thinks I'm no good?" She asked worriedly, scared of what her family might say.

"Then you'll have done something no Malfoy has done before," she assured her, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder, "which to me sounds like an achievement." Lia smiled at her new friend's attempts to make her feel better "I mean, as long as you're not in Hufflepuff, I think you'll be all good." she said as they shared a laugh and continued their conversations. Later the train stopped at Hogsmeade and the two rose from their seats.

"Oh no!" Ginny jumped in recollection, causing a confused look from her friend. "I forgot, my stuff is still with Hermione and Neville." She climbed out of her seat and opened the door. Before she left, she leaned over on one leg and looked back into their train booth. "See you by the boats?" she asked.

Lia smiled excitedly. "See you by the boats."

Ginny smiled and as she ran down the halls, she could help but jump a little and whisper a loud "Yes!" from under her breath. She had made a friend. She was so nervous for Hogwarts and thought she would be alone, but she actually made a friend. And they hadn't even reached the castle yet! She made her way back to find Hermione and Neville packing their bags, and Ginny noticed that Harry and Ron still weren't there.

"Ginny, where have been?" Hermione breathed concern and relief both in her tone. "You didn't come back after we went looking, I thought you had gone missing as well!"

"Sorry, I got caught up in things." she said, putting Hermione a little bit more to ease "Talking to a friend I made." Hermione, while still a little annoyed she didn't say anything, smiled at the comment, happy she was already making friends on her first day.

"That's great, Ginny. Will we be seeing them at the great hall?" Ginny was about to say something when she caught her tongue, reminded of the bad blood between the golden trio and Draco Malfoy.

She cautiously said "Yeah, maybe. You might not, though, there's going to be a lot of people and we're all going to be excited." She couldn't tell if Hermione had picked up on her hesitation but she didn't press.

Many minutes later she was waving to her friends and brothers as her boat rowed itself across the water. She could see that some of them were curious as to why she got in the same boat as Malfoy but looked to count it as bad luck. As the boat made its way out, they turned around to see a beautiful sight. Atop a hill next to the lake stood Hogwarts, school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It's looming figure and many small lights lit up the sky, making it look even more awe-inspiring. The stars in the night sky behind its ancient towers gave it a different sort of magic, one that made your heart believe that anything was possible, that you were welcomed here and that this world was where you belonged and deserved to be. Ginny wondered if this was what her brothers felt when they came to Hogwarts for their first year. It was a feeling she would never forget.

"It's beautiful.." Lia said next to her, eyes filled with the same awe and wonder as her new friend. Ginny turned her head and smiled at her, a smile that showed just how much affection she felt for her.

"It is, isn't it?" came a dreamy voice from behind.

Ginny and Lia turned in surprise, finding that there was a third member of their boat. She had blonde hair, but unlike Lia's, it was much dirtier shade and it was much longer, extending down to the upper part of her hips. She had an ethereal and pensive look in her eyes, which rove over the castle and other boats intently like her mind was constantly drifting into the clouds.

"Hello," Ginny introduced, slightly more confident from her interaction with Lia."My name's Ginny. This is Lia." she waved her hand towards the pale witch, who offered a small wave and a warm smile.

"Oh," the girl said, somewhat coming back to reality. "Sorry, I was just thinking about how there are so many nargles in these boats. Someone should do something about it." she smiled to herself upon seeing their confusion. "My name's Luna, Luna Lovegood."

* * *

Draco sat in one of the carriages with Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy. He looked over at the current neighboring carriage, containing Granger, Longbottom and most of the Weasley boys. He noticed that Potty Potter and Runt-ald Weasley were nowhere to be seen, and thought about what the pair were up to until a voice came from near the end of the path.

"Welcome back, Students! Everyone to the great hall for the Sorting Ceremony!" squeaked Professor Flitwick, standing in front of the entrance to the castle. The group of them got their stuff and made their way to the ceremony.

"Wonder why Potter and Weasley aren't around." Draco thought aloud. Pansy groaned at his comment.

"Probably getting special famous treatment from Dumbledore or something. Honestly, Draco, you need to stop thinking about the golden trio. They're just a group of bumbling idiots." She told him. She playfully stuck her tongue out at him when responded with a scowl.

"Granger's anything but stupid, even if she is a Gryffindor." He said, looking over at the Weasley's and Co. "She's got a hard-working brain in that head of hers and she's not afraid to fight for her beliefs."

"What did I say," A smirking figure said from behind. "Mentions her quite frequently." Draco scowled even more and narrowly missed Clavius' leg in an attempted kick. Clavius and Pansy laughed at this, while Draco kept his head forward. Pansy was very close to the Malfoys, along with the rest of 'Draco's gang'. The lot of them were the children of Pureblood families that grew up together before Hogwarts, families coming over often. At first glance, you would have thought the group to just be another name for the current second-year Slytherins, who liked to pick on people for the fun of it.

The Malfoys, however, were different from what they once were. With the birth of Clavius and his independence being obvious from a young age, his father and mother were inspired by their oldest child. They saw beauty in the world, and guilt in their actions. Years went on where they saw their child grow and they grew with him. This only multiplied with Draco and Ophelia. When Clavius went to Platform 9 ¾ he went with a family that nobody expected them with; the Tonks. The family of his youngest aunt was kind and good-natured, and his cousin Nymphadora, who preferred the name Tonks, was a fifth-year student. She and Draco, who was nine, had hit it off, and the reconciled families had kept in touch ever since. Even in Draco's first year, they had gained three new members; Anthony Goldstein, a Ravenclaw half-blood, Mandy Brocklehurst, another Ravenclaw half-blood, and Zacheriah Smith, a Hufflepuff pureblood. At first they weren't as close, but eventually found their place in the group, and they became just as close, even coming over to each other's homes. Draco's friends and family may not publicly acknowledge it, but they were far from being bigots.

The only problem was that they were still Slytherin purebloods and Slytherin purebloods had a knack for making enemies. For the Malfoys that was always the Weasley family, even from before the war. The Weasleys always held themselves on their high horse, tried to make them out as the Neo-Nazi terrorists that they were supposed to be. Their rival went back to their school days and, despite their newfound common friend in the Tonks', they could never see eye to eye in the modern-day. The Weasley boy in Draco's year, Ron, held a clear dislikening from the beginning. He didn't blame him, the feeling was mutual, but it didn't help the feud between the Weasley clan and the Malfoy family. Clavius himself thought of the Weasleys as incompetent and bitter, envious of the Malfoy wealth and their respectability in their community. Perhaps he was wrong to let the Weasley girl anywhere near his sister.

He stilled when he spotted the first years and saw Ophelia happily chatting to her new friends. She was talking to three others; the Weasley girl, a long-haired blonde who was swaying a little from side-to-side, and a mouse-haired boy excitedly holding a camera. They were all talking and laughing, and Draco had felt happiness, sadness and something he couldn't quite put his finger on at the time, but it made the sight of the others quite uncomfortable.

"Well well." Clavius said, amused, "Isn't that the Weasley girl? I'm surprised you're letting them stand near each other"

"Why should I do? Drag her away from the rest of the first-years?" Draco said, a little too defensively. "She would hate me. Besides, it's not like I knew she was going to become friends with her."

A knowing smile crept up on Clavius' face. "Sure, Draco. Sure." And they entered the hall.

Draco and Pansy sat with the rest of their mates, while Clavius went to sit with his. The sorting ceremony went uneventfully, many people muttering about the new Professor Lockhart and many witches blushing and swooning over his sparkling smile, much to the boy's obvious. Draco noticed Potter and Weasley near a window and smirked upon seeing them jump in surprise when Professor Snape appeared behind them. Multiple names had been called upon and many new students were put into their assorted houses. The mousy-haired boy, Colin Creevey according to the name list, was placed into Gryffindor, which disgruntled Draco a little. He didn't want his sister to associate with those fool-hardy idiots, especially that tool Ron. He was more content when the long-haired girl was put into Ravenclaw, but at the mention of her name, Luna Lovegood, was still concerned due to their families 'reputation'.

Finally, it was Lia's time to be sorted. She walked up to the stool, looking incredibly nervous, and allowed the professor to plop the hat onto her head. It took about thirty seconds, a time which her face made many different expressions. Worry, concern, uncertainty, and fear. She closed her eyes and waited for the hat to make the decision. He wondered why she would look so defeated.

He was completely unprepared for what came next. Looking over to his brother, who looked just as surprised, he confirmed that his ears were working perfectly. The room was extremely quiet, blown into a great shock, with gasps being heard from every table after the hat had cried "Never had to say this before, but the Malfoy goes to GRYFFINDOR!" Lia had scared written all over her face and didn't seem to appreciate their whispers. She still sat on the stool, her legs slightly shaking and her hands wringing. Draco, upon seeing this, was filled an impulse, a moment of brotherly defense that somehow washed over his pain at seeing his sister in the fool's house. It drove him to do something unexpected. To the students, to the professors and even to himself.

"WOOOO! Yeah, Lia!" He cheered and clapped, strange looks turning to him instead of Lia by his cutting of the silence. Clavius decided to join in with a whistle and then proceeded to clap along. It was enough for her to smile thankfully at them and take her place next to Creevey. After their cheers died out, mostly due to the embarrassment that no one was joining in, the crowd started wildly with a sea of whispers and gossip. Malfoy was in Gryffindor, and the others were supporting it?

"SILENCE!" The booming voice of Professor Dumbledore rang across the entire great hall. "Please, save your comments until we begin the feast. We have more students to sort and more futures to look forward to." Altogether his voice was commanding, causing the students to calm down, his lips were pointed slightly upwards and his eyes had that twinkle of joyful wisdom, or as Uncle Severus would call it 'that damned sparkling tomfoolery.

Draco glimpsed at the Gryffindor table, spying Granger and Longbottom's dumbfounded and concerned expressions. He would have laughed stupidly of her wasn't narrowing his eyes at their whispers. He would not let anyone, especially Potter's lot, do anything that might put his sister in harm's way. Even if she was a Gryffindor.

He felt an arm on his shoulder and saw Blaise Zabini, another close friend, giving him a weary look.

"Mate, are you alright? You're okay with that?" He asked gently, not wanting to uncover any hidden outrage. Draco simply looked his sister, who was excitedly chatting to Creevey and the recently sorted Weasley. He stared long and hard, trying to put pieces of his belief together. She was a Gryffindor. He hated Gryffindors. She was friends with a Weasley. He hated the Weasleys. She was looking down the Gryffindor table, with the Red-Headed girl cautiously pointing out Potter's lot. He hated Potter and his so-called friends.

And yet she was his sister, she was family. He would always love family.

"I have to be." He put plainly. Zabini didn't look convinced, but nodded understandingly and turned to face one of the Slytherin girls, Tracy by the look of it. He turned to face Clavius, who held the same expression as he had during its announcement. It was his calculating face. He was already getting ready to strike. It was a face Draco had always loathed and feared, despite the love he held for his brother. It always came before he did something. He just hoped that he would make his point in one move.

For everybody's sake.

* * *

Harry walked towards the Common room with new-founds gratitude to his head-of-house. He, along with Ron, had made it to the Grand Staircase before they started to hear murmurs in the students passing by. Whispers and gossip could be heard from small cliques and groups of friends, yet none of them directed at Harry for once.

"Wonder what's got them all riled up," Ron said, the half-sandwich in his mouth painfully easy to see. "Probably to do with that Lockhart as the new professor."

"I'm not sure," Harry said with a curious eye to the students around, "I think something happened. They seemed surprised, and Lockhart being our professor could be seen a mile off- well, to the people who haven't even met him."

They gave the password to the Fat Lady and entered the Common room, the first years having set up their dorm-rooms and settling in the Common room to be welcomed by their older housemates. Seamus and Dean saw them enter and greeted them, laughs and handshakes being exchanged between the pairs of best friends. They looked around and spotted other people around the cozy lounge, sitting by the couches and window talking, reading and enjoying the first night of the new year. Harry spotted the girls Hermione shared a dorm with, he thought their names were something to do with flowers. He spotted Hermione, who seemed to be talking to Ginny, a smile on her face. They made their way to the two to greet them when they saw-

They stopped dead in their tracks when they saw a girl with pale eyes and blond hair smiling back and shaking hands with Hermione. It seemed like a first meeting, and it was going well.

"Wait," Harry narrowed his eyes to get a good look at the girl. "Isn't that Malfoy's little sister? She's in Gryffindor? How did that even-" He was cut short when a pale-faced Ron's ears started to brighten, moving quickly to the group with rising tension. Harry pursued him, telling him to 'wait up' and 'think about what he was doing'. He stopped adjacent of their conversation, eyes suddenly turning to him in surprise.

"What's going on here?" He asked, his voice giving away his rising temper. Hermione crossed her arms, disapproving of his tone. Ginny looked slightly annoyed and her friend looked scared by his anger.

"Ronald," Hermione began, her words soft but filled with a clear warning, "Ginny was introducing me to her new friend. We met her in Diagon Alley, remember?"

He cut in front of Hermione to stare down at the poor child, Ginny being the only thing between them. She seemed to be just as timid as the last time they saw each other, Harry thought. Things weren't looking up.

"Of course I remember her." He said, glaring towards the first-year Gryffindor. "How could I forget any members of the family that lives to torment and humiliate mine." He stepped forward, expecting Ginny to move. Instead, she stood her ground and stared back up to Ron, eyes like fire and outrage at his behavior.

"She's done nothing to you, Ron." She stated, her voice stronger than Harry had ever heard before. "She's my friend and I let you stand here and berate her because you don't like her brothers."

"Ginny, she's a Malfoy. They probably cursed the sorting hat so she can spy on the muggle-borns here. Her parents are Death Eaters, and her brothers are probably just as insane."

This seems to set something off in the Malfoy girl, who suddenly became cold in the eyes as she took her at Ginny's side instead of her back.

"Never, speak about my family in front of me again." She spat, the hot anger in her voice a contrast to the icy glare she gave him, "I might tolerate your insults, but don't think for one SECOND that I'll let you talk about my brothers that way. They are kind and honest and better brothers than you'll EVER be!"

The scream that came from her lips as she finished her sentence caused everyone to turn to them, and made Ron stagger back a few paces in surprise. Ginny shot daggers at him a final time before gripper her friend's hand and marching up to their dorm. Seconds later Hermione smacked Ron on the head with a roll of parchment.

"Ron! What in Merlin's- What is wrong with you!?" She was furious, and Ron simply looked at her like she was crazy.

"What? She's hanging out with a Malfoy? What else was I supposed to do?"

All she could do was stare at him, speechless. Harry didn't blame her, he picked all the wrong approaches to that situation. Hermione picked up her things and went over to talk to Neville, who had just left a conversation on Lockhart with the other boys in his year.

"Honestly," Ron shook his head. "you'd think they'd all gone mental."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Seriously, Ron? To be honest, I'm with the others on this one. She's a Malfoy, yes, but she's also Ginny's friend. Something that you need to consider." He picked up Ron's truck while he stared with bewilderment. "I'm off to be, so I'll take your stuff with me. Crashing a flying car into a psychotic murder tree takes it out of you." The ears that heard this gave him curious looks before he retreated upstairs. The reminder of the past event made Ron frown.

"God, I hope mum doesn't send a Howler.."


	3. Chap 1-3: There's Fire in his Eyes

A/N: It's been at least three weeks since I posted last. Sorry about that.. Next time I'll be on time. I hope.

Anyway, let's just get right into it.

* * *

As the students in the Great Hall chatted and ate breakfast cheerfully, hopeful of their first day back, Draco watched the Gryffindor bench from his side of the room. He saw his sister talking to Creevey and the Weasley girl. Every time he saw the red-head talk to his little Lia he felt that feeling. He initially thought his sister would be scared and alone, so he would need to step in to protect her.

But between last night at the sorting ceremony and this very moment, much had transpired in the Gryffindor Tower. Anthony had heard amongst some Gryffindor third-years that an argument had broken out between Weasel and his sister, an argument about Lia. At first, it made his blood boil, wanting to take revenge against the cherry-head idiot. But when he found out his sister had stood her ground, he started to have mixed feelings. Initially, he was proud that his sister was able to dish out like the best of the Malfoys, but his pride started to deteriorate, being replaced by this new feeling. The feeling that usually came with thoughts, such as '_What if she doesn't need me?_' Or '_What if she goes all out Gryffindor?_'. The fact that her best friend was, to his growing disdain, a Weasley didn't help put him to ease. While both his siblings had sent letters to their parents, informing them of the sorting and what happened during the ceremony, neither said anything on her Lia's friendship. He was worried that if he didn't talk to her about things going on, it may come crashing down on all their heads.

"Oh my god, stop staring at them." Blaise moaned, snapping Draco back to reality. "You've been doing it for like seven minutes. Stop."

Draco huffed and picked up his now-cold sandwich. "It's not my fault if I actually care about my sister, Zabini."

"Of course you care, just try not to go all Big Brother just because you're her big brother, yeah?"

"What does that even mean?" He said, confused.

"You didn't read that muggle book I sent you, did you?" Blaise asked, sighing at Draco's guilty scowl. "Fine. Let's just go find Ant and Mandy. We have a class with them next and I want to meet them early to exchange notes." The two raised from their seats as breakfast came to an end and went towards the door. The spotted Anthony and Mandy just outside the door, the former grinning and the latter with rolling eyes. They spotted the Slytherin and smiled, putting their things away and joining them by the Great Hall entrance.

"What's shakin', bacon?" Anthony asked enthusiastically. The two raised an eyebrow.

"He's been trying to use more muggle phrases," Mandy said, eyes-rolling once again. "He seems to enjoy it, despite forgetting that no one understands what he's saying."

"Oh come on, Mand. They're better than 'never tickle a sleeping dragon'. I mean what the hell is that?" He asked incredulously. Mandy just shook her head, then turned to Blaise and Draco with a smile.

"You guys ready for potions?" She asked. "I hope Snape doesn't berate us mercilessly this year since we're in cahoots with his pet student." This made the other, except for an unamused Draco, laugh and smile. They had missed their friends.

The conversation by the hall had continued for a while, the stories of the summer and banter between friends being shared. It was sad to hear about Zach, who was starting to get on people's nerves. Zach had always been the furthest from the group, being a Hufflepuff and in the year above them, but he was starting to act self-centred, snobbish and, well, like a real git. He was always doubting people and had a habit of biting back, even at the lightest of criticism. They didn't know how long this would last, but they figured he would be out soon. Draco was about to suggest hexing him when someone bumped into his back while walking out the Great Hall.

"Hey, watch where your- oh, of course. What was I expecting?" Draco drawled as he looked over at Potter, Weasley and Granger. They turned to him, Ron being the closest due to him being the accidental nudger.

"Just ignore him, he's not worth it," Hermione told them, glaring at the blond. He wouldn't back down, however, and his friends could see it.

"I heard you lost a fight with your sister, Weasley. Who knew you'd have less of a spine than a little girl?" He smirked. Ron's ears went pink, but he tried to ignore it as they kept walking. Draco wasn't finished and Blaise thought things were only just getting interesting.

"When are you packing, then?" He called out to them, louder as they got further away. "Expelled for almost killing a tree and destroying your dad's car. I hear your dad's gotten into trouble at work, best he quit now before he embarrasses himself more!" While Blaise laughed, Ant and Mandy couldn't help but look concerned. They didn't like where this was going. The Golden Trio turned around, Potter looking tired, Granger looking frustrated and Weasley looking red.

"Leave him alone, you prats. He hasn't done anything to you." Hermione argued. Draco scoffed and Blaise pulled a smirk.

"You know that's a lie, Granger. Word travels fast. I know exactly what your argument was about." Malfoy stated, his eyes suddenly becoming hard as they changed direction back to Ron. "And you know too, don't you, Weasley?"

"I won't let my sister hang around with scheming death eater trainees. She's better off without your family existing." Ron said, his voice betraying his anger. While most seemed to understand the situation, Mandy stood there looking confused. _Nobody told her_, Malfoy wagered.

"Come on, Ron. Let's leave." Harry said, grabbing Ron's arm. "We have herbology later, let's go to the library."

"I don't think so, Harry." Anthony interrupted, taking the three by surprise. They had assumed he was just there to see a fight break out. "Ron's insulted Draco's family to his sister's face. He made her feel horrible on her first day. I think he should apologies." While he seemed calm and tried to ease the situation, Mandy opened her mouth aghast.

"You did what? How could you? She's so sweet and kind and you're just- just horrible!" She shouted, in a bid of outrage. Lia had always been the soft spot of Draco's friend group. Pansy and Mandy were the ones to talk to her about, well, _girly_ things. Whatever those were.

"I didn't know you guys were such good friends with Malfoy," Harry noted, his voice conveying his surprise, caution and intrigue.

"Draco's not a bad bloke, Harry. He's a good guy, unlike some people you seem to associate with." Ant said, narrowing his eyes at Ron.

"I don't know what the hell you're getting at, but your mental if you think Malfoy considers you a friend." Ron fired back. This intensified Draco's glare and Blaise had even dropped his smirk to frowned at the ginger. Mandy stepped forward, arms stuck at her sides with clenched fists sticking outwards.

"Why wouldn't he be, Weasley?" she said, daring an answer from him. "What makes you think you know him? What gives you the right to assume anything of him?"

"I'll tell you why, because he's a Malfoy. Because he's a Slytherin. Because he is a stuck-up, evil pureblood who hates everything muggle and would bend every limb over for you-know-who. Because his dad's a horrible man who did terrible things during the war and even at Hogwarts when my parents were there. Because his dad's best friend is Snape, the greasy git who makes everyone's life miserable because he enjoys it. Because his mum's sister is _Bellatrix Bloody LeStrange_! His entire family are cowards who'll do nothing to help anyone but themselves, and use people like you to get whatever the hell they want and once he's done? Once he's done he'll drop you like nothing and treat you like rubbish because that's all he sees you as; mudblood rubbish!" Mandy gasped as she brought her hands to her mouth. Anthony was wide-eyed and Blaise was turned with worry to his blond friend. Hermione and Harry just watched in confusion at their reactions to the word

Draco's jaw tensed. It was such a strange sight from a twelve-year-old. His eyes were stone and set straight for the boy in front of him. His mind was static with a single word right in the middle of it all. _Cowards_. Next thing he knew he was walking straight towards the Golden Trio. They were taken aback by how fast he was pacing and almost went into fight or flight. He stopped right in front of Weasley, fixated on each other.

The juxtaposition of their gaze, a cloudy storm versus a clear blue sky, deadly cold versus raging fire, was a testament their entire family feud and the reasoning behind it. The Malfoys were dangerous and dark. The Weasleys were lively and light. This was just common knowledge. Common knowledge that Draco hated more than he hated the Weasleys. He knew he had a bit of a temper when it came to ignorance. He knew that he was a bit snarky with people he didn't particularly like and that he had 'small' superiority complex, but he wasn't a bad person. He and his family were good people. They loved, they hurt and they hated just like the Weasleys. His father had indeed been a death eater and his mother's sister was one of their most loyal, but they had regretted that and tried to redeem themselves. Besides, who your family was couldn't be helped. Draco wished to Merlin, Salazar and even Godric that he could end it, that he could be more than a what Weasley saw him as.

He was too madly furious to try and make them understand, or even to be civil. But Draco was stubborn.

"You want to talk about my family?!" He hissed as he grabbed Ron's collar and pulled him close to his face, his eyes turning from the cold glare to a blazing madness. Harry and Hermione were shocked by the suddenness of it all and drew their wands out. Blaise and Anthony did the same, and Mandy stood by them with hands-on their shoulders. This kept the two sides from attacking immediately but the threat still lingered on as Malfoy spat into the face of a bewildered Ron.

"Then let's talk about my family! I don't care who you think you are and what you think I am, but don't ever speak about my family again! They are better people than you'll ever be in your pathetic excuse for a life and are kind and proud in spite of your family's constant barrage of hateful lies! If you go near my sister ever again, if you go try to move against my friends or family ever again, I swear to merlin will curse you until your eyes are popping right out their bloody-"

"Draco?" A voice said, tone a mix of surprise and.. Curiosity?

The boy in question, who was still seeing red, turned to his left, only to find his older brother looking at the scene with a raised eyebrow. All heads turned to the direction of his staring when they noticed his features change from pure rage into a shock of realisation. Standing perpendicular of the Draco and Weasel was a group of fourth-year students lead by non-other than Clavius Malfoy. Clavius' gang was different from Draco's, where it was more like a network than a crew. It was all business to him, and when it came down to it he generally avoided getting his siblings involved. Especially when it was as tense as this.

Clavius was standing in the middle of the hall, his crew at his back. He had the smirk on his face, the one that showed the tactician inside him was getting fired up. He always enjoyed being on top of the situation.

"Lookie lookie what we have here." He said, amusement etching in his tone. "I dare say, this is a rather unexpected sight." He chuckled emptily, that blasted smirk still plastered on his face. He turned his attention to Draco's side of the brawl. "Blaise! I saw you in the common room with Davis, wonderful to see you again. And if it isn't Brockle and Gold. How are you two? Busy summers, I should guess. You weren't one for being inactive, ey Mandy?" He now made his approach to the two in the middle. Draco realised he was still holding onto Weasley's collar and let go, backing away a couple of steps. Despite being furious at the Weasley for what he was doing, Clavius was still very intimidating. He stared down at the two of them, eyes changing the target every few seconds or so. He eventually moved to face Ron, who was now a little pale. He bent his back to bring their faces closer, and Ron responded by leaning backwards and arching his own. He eventually fell over and was now on the ground looking terrified. Draco smirked, despite his anger.

"You've been causing us a lot of trouble, Weasley." He all but whispered, the smirk now dissipating from his features. "And it's not just today. I'm sure your friend here-" he glanced up to Harry, and then back down. "-will tell you that we make quick work of our enemies. Now I'm not someone who enjoys violence. Salazar knows I'd rather be out with my friends or reading a book by a cosy fire. But if you insist on picking on my sister, well, you may find that your brothers won't be around all the time. You wouldn't want anything bad to happen, would you, Weasley?" Ron, who close to scowling, just frowned and shook his head. Clavius heightened himself and smirked, though it was more of a victory smirk than anything. "Right then, well I have things to do and people to see. I'm sure that you and I will cross paths once again, perhaps under more... Civil circumstances. I shall be informing Percy about this incident. Hopefully, something like this doesn't happen in the future." He bowed slightly and then made to turn away from the hall. "Potter. Granger. It's always a pleasure." He winked and then lead his posse towards the grand staircase. He turned his head to quickly look back and exchanged a glance with Draco. He saw the concern and interest in his eyes. He would definitely by confronted about this later.

Draco and the trio stared at each other for a moment, before Draco made to leave. He turned into the corridor that Clavius had just exited and his friends rushed to follow, silence and awkwardness surrounding the new atmosphere. Draco didn't want to talk, despite his friends' attempts. He just wanted to get to class so he could calm down, try to stop himself from getting worried again.

Despite his attempts, his concern for Lia had only increased.

* * *

It had been several days since the encounter by the Great Hall. And yet, Hermione couldn't get her mind past it. Draco had always been a prat, from what she saw, but he never let his anger get the best of him. She had always seen him as cold and indifferent, but she never expected to see him with fire in his eyes. That always seemed a Weasley trait, if anything. Even now, as she was finishing her breakfast, she wondered how strong the bonds were between the Malfoy trio, and how it could do potential harm. Hermione had never been an only child so she never really could understand the sibling relationship. The closest she had was probably Harry and Ron, but she had only known them a year. They didn't have the closeness that siblings had, and she was always a little envious of Ron. She was even more envious when he got into rows with Ginny, Percy or the Twins, it was like he didn't understand how wonderful having a sibling was. With Draco, though, it was different. Draco had never gotten into a row with Lia or Clavius. Whenever Lia talks about her brothers it was filled with nothing but affection and awe. She looked up to them so much it was astounding, inspiring even. She loved them so much, and according to her, they loved her back with just as much gusto.

Recently, however, things didn't seem to be that good. Draco seemed to be avoiding her attention, and she knew it. She was becoming less open more and more, and her eyes were always wetter whenever her brother turned the other direction. It was sad to see a girl who was full of love start to recline into a shell. Hermione was determined to figure out why he was doing this to someone he had passionately defended days prior.

Hermione and Ron, who had finished their breakfast and came down to the Quidditch pitch with some toast, found that the Gryffindor team hadn't even started practice, according to an exhausted Harry. It Harry and the twins had started a fun race around the pitch that things went downhill.

"What's going on?" came the faint voice of Oliver Wood as he flew over to the three racers. Hermione could see flashing coming from one of the higher parts of the pitch, and noticed Colin Creevey taking pictures and gesturing at a slightly annoyed Harry.

"I've seen that boy around. Is he trying to take pictures of Harry?" Angelina said as she and the other chasers, Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell on the stands with Hermione and Ron.

"His name's Colin Creevey," Hermione answered. "He seems to have a small obsession with Harry, he said 'Hello' to him at least six times yesterday. Come to think of it, he did it the day before, too."

"No wonder he's friends with Ginny, then. She's practically in love with him." Ron tried to say but was mostly spat due to the toast stuffed in his mouth.

"I bet Wood thinks he's a spy for Slytherin." Alicia joked. This got a laugh out of the group until Katie frowned and said: "I don't think they'll be needing a spy."

Angelina frowned too. "Why not?"

"Because they're here." She pointed at the group of green and silver. When Oliver, Harry and the Twins made their landing in front of the group, the others made to join them. By the time they were there, things were already pretty tense. Standing next to who she presumed was the quidditch captain, Hermione noticed an impatient looking-

"Oh look," the possibly-captain drawled, "a pitch invasion."

"What's going on? Why aren't you playing?" Ron asked Harry. His eyes shifted to Draco and his face darkened. "And what's _he_ doing here?"

"I'm the new Slytherin Seeker, Weasley." Malfoy returned, not looking at all happy with anything that was going on. "Your house's team just couldn't help but be impressed by our new brooms, and decided to get in the bloody way." Ron gaped at the Nimbus 2001s that the entire team sported. Hermione expected Draco to be looking smug and act like an arrogant prat, but all his did was scowl at having his time wasted. Perhaps it was because he didn't want to spend time anywhere near Ron for what happened.

"An excellent donation, wouldn't you say?" The Slytherin Captain sneered. "Don't worry, Wood. I'm sure you could get enough galleons for new brooms."

"Yeah, I bet the Weasleys would love some sticks to fix the holes in their roof." Draco finished. This was received with howling laughter from most of the team, and daggers from the glaring eyes of the Weasley boys. The other Gryffindors took to their sides.

"At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to _buy_ their way in," Hermione retorted, defending her friends. "They got in on pure talent."

Draco's moment of laughter came to an end as he took a step forward. His grey eyes narrowed, and she was able to see a small amount of Clavius in his glare. He leaned towards her a bit so they were at eye level.

"I didn't ask for your opinion, Granger. Stay out of it, you're not even a player." He growled. She didn't back down, slightly surprised he didn't go all out.

"I might not be, but my friends are. So if you think you can just pick on them and act like a rude, conceited git just because daddy's got money, you're wrong.." His glare hardened and the fire she had seen not so long ago was back. The other Slytherins looked so cold in contrast to his anger-filled flame.

"How dare you," he spat. "I'm not some spoiled brat who gets the world handed to him on a silver platter. I worked for this position. I work hard to get where I am, just like you. It's because of you sodding Gryffindor lot I don't hang around my sister as much as I'd like to, and if you think you can just come here and call me 'rude, conceited git' without knowing anything about me, you have another thing coming, you little m-"

He managed to catch himself, and the fire suddenly died down a bit. He paled slightly at whatever he was about to say as if he was horrified at his own words. Only a few had understood where he was going, all of them being Gryffindors. The whole quidditch team, save Harry, tensed up and Ron was looking absolutely furious. He then let out a breath and said, "Just stay out it. It has nothing to do with you." He said, and then made his way out onto the pitch. As the Slytherin followed suit, Oliver threw his broom to the floor and started ranting. The twins, who never seemed to get a dampened mood, started joking around with the chasers, and Harry and Hermione were left with a red-tomato Ron.

"That git. That stupid snake." He was fuming, much to his friends' confusion.

"What is it, Ron?" Hermione asked, becoming increasingly worried at her friend's anger.

"Ron," Angelina warned, noticing the tension, "let it go. He didn't say it, so there's noth-"

"But he was going to! He was going to call her a- a you-know-what!" He argued. Harry stepped up, placing his hands on his friend's shoulders.

"Hey, why don't we go to Hagrid's and calm down? It would be much easier to finally understand what on earth you're talking about without interruption." He glared at the Slytherins as he said the last word.

Later, Harry and Hermione discovered the word 'mudblood'. They discovered what it meant, why people used it, and who it was used by. So as they made their way back to the castle from Hagrid's hut, Ron talking about how he couldn't wait for Halloween so he could get a taste of some pie made from Hagrid's gigantic pumpkins and Harry murmuring every time someone mentioned Colin, Lockhart or fame, Hermione played the situation back in her head. The Malfoys were one of the few pure-blood families that believed in elitism and were even supporters of you-know-who. Ron had said that during the _incident,_ noting that they also used words like that. This sickened her to the stomach, especially at how an insult so derogatory and degrading could be used towards anyone. But then she thought about Lia. From what she had seen and what she had heard, Lia was kind and loving. She knew that Weasleys wouldn't be friends with bigots, so why would Ginny? Lia couldn't be a pure-blood elitist. But if she wasn't, then why did she idolise her family so much? Perhaps there was more to them than meets-the-eye. Perhaps there was more to Draco.

Draco. She suddenly remembered his ferocity. How could someone become so spiteful and angry when someone insults their families, but disassociate themselves from them at the same time? He said something about Gryffindors keeping him away, but did that make sense? She couldn't understand what was going on with him, but she would find out. For Lia's sake, she would find out.

* * *

The group of four sat on the grass of one of the courtyards. It was heading towards evening and the quartet wanted to get some relaxing done. Ginny and Lia lay down on their stomachs with parchment and textbooks in front of them, Colin was organising his various photos and Luna was tying a nargle-repelling bracelet together. They sat in a little circle, happily chatting and playfully joking among friends.

"I got some pictures of Harry racing the twins today!" Colin exclaimed, holding a picture to his friends, "He's so cool and awesome, I want to be just like him!"

"H-Harry?" Ginny said, quickly facing him and blushing. "As in Harry P-Potter?" Lia glanced over at her and shook her head, repressing a laugh. Colin just nodded quickly, and Luna was humming to herself.

"Honestly, Ginny. You need to stop that. Harry Potter's fine and all, but this crush thing is over the top."

"Yeah, Ginny." Luna agreed, serious but just as pensive "I think the wrackspurts have gotten into your head. This seems like something they'd get up to."

"Well it's not my fault he's dreamy." She whispered, looking around so passers-by wouldn't hear. "I mean who can say they don't like Harry Potter?"

"Mr Filch," Luna said,

"Uncle Sev," Lia said,

"Foolish people, of course!" Colin said,

"Okay, okay. I get it." Ginny said, playfully rolling her eyes. "Apart from them, though, everyone likes Harry! Hermione says that even her dormmates talk about him."

Lia opened her mouth to respond, but her eyes suddenly moved to something in the background. As she closed her mouth to form a small frown, Ginny followed her longing gaze to find Draco Malfoy walking with Blaise Zabini, Theo Nott and Anthony Goldstein. He was chatting and laughing with them but he managed to spot Lia out of the corner of his eye. He immediately went through the first door he found and left. Blaise Zabini had seen them too, and he shot them an apologetic look before following Draco. Ginny turned to Lia, who had a pained expression. Ginny put a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay, Lia. He's just- Well I don't know. But I'm sure you two will get better." But the words weren't enough. Lia gathered her things and stood up, abruptly walking off to the distance. Colin and Luna stood up as well, but Ginny was the first to start following her.

"Lia, wait!" She cried, not wanting her friend to be alone. "Slow down! Lia, please, talk to me!"

"There's nothing to talk about." Her voice was hard like her brothers were when they were cold. _Just like Draco_, Ginny thought. That scared her. "I just need to.. I just need to be alone." There was not much to be done. Lia headed towards the common room, leaving a befuddled Colin, an understanding Luna and a teary-eyed Ginny. She hated what her brother was doing to her. She hated him so, so much. It was almost like Ron. In some ways it was worse than Ron, at least he stands to be around her. Clavius had talked to her, but he wasn't enough. Draco was isolating her. She needed both brothers, they needed to be supportive of her. If Draco couldn't stand by her just because she's a Gryffindor and because she was friends with a Weasley, well she would show him.

She decided that's what she was going to do. She gathered Colin and Luna and they followed her to where-ever she was headed, which was where-ever Malfoy was. She was going to knock some sense into him.

Little did she know that Ophelia was crying into her pillow, weeping tears of pain that her brother had abandoned her at a time where she was scared. Scared of her own housemates, who were supposed to be her family. Scared that the people who surrounded her would be hurt for being her friend. Scared that her brothers would be hurt by horrible people like Ginny's brother.

She whipped her cheeks and looked around to see that nobody was around, then went under her bed, tears still pouring from her eyes. She retrieved the several items had been looking for and, still in an emotional state, began writing in her diary.

* * *

Lucius Malfoy had always been calm under pressure. Being on the front lines of the first wizarding war does that to you. Well at this second he was hit with stress unlike any other, and he was most certainly not calm.

"NARCISSA!" He screamed, fear and panic coursing through him. "NARCISSA, WHERE ARE YOU!?"

Both his wife and his closest friend suddenly burst into the dungeon, wide-eyed at seeing him this visibly pale.

"Darling, what's wrong?" His wife asked, placing a soothing hand on his back in great concern.

"Yes, Lucius. What happened?" Came the voice of Severus Snape. "Have one of the artefacts gone off? I've padded the cells with defensive wards to counteract the lesser curses."

"The Diary." He breathed, his eyes burning at the empty spot of the magically-secured briefcase. "It's gone. I-It must have- someone must have-"

"Oh Merlin," Narcissa heaved, turning just as pale. "We haven't checked on it since... They must have... Oh my." she suddenly realised. "Lucius, the children. What if it was the children?!"

"Calm down, both of you." Severus interrupted, although he was looking whiter as well. "Let's think. The security around the manor is too good, and the dungeons have been warded well. That, however, meant that the enchantments placed around the cases and trunks were just magic repressing, and didn't stop them from being opened. The elves are too loyal to have taken it, whether they like it or not. That leaves one option." He reasoned, pacing back and forth in an attempt to boost his brain activity. "Someone who had access to the dungeons took it. It wasn't us so that only leaves three options, ones that none of us would like." He stopped and turned to his cohorts, the tension only increasing at what that could mean.

"But.." Narcissa began "if one of our children have it.."

"Then the Diary is at Hogwarts." Lucius finished, his tone dark and worried. "Exactly where _he_ wanted it."


	4. Chap 1-4: So it begins

A/N: Welcome back.

This is a slightly longer chapter. I think that it'll be this long normally too.

delta123456789: thank's for your regular reviews. I always appreciate good criticism.

Thank you to others who've reviewed as well, glad you seem to enjoy it.

Welp, let's drive right into this one.

* * *

Weeks had passed since the first day of Hogwarts, and certain people didn't seem to be having it too well. Harry was constantly dealing with Colin's constant fangirling and Professor Lockhart's celebrity status, as well as Oliver's three-in-the-morning wake-up call for Quidditch practice. Ophelia was getting a bit distant from her friends, which put Ginny in a bit of a foul mood. Draco -well, Malfoy was just as he was; Snarky and filled with rage. He always seemed to be annoyed when Gryffindor was around, more than he was last year, and his patience seemed non-existent. All this combined, it didn't seem to do wonders for Hermione either.

It was now the last day of October, and she was making her way down to the dungeons to attend Nearly Headless Nick's 500th Deathday. How Harry managed to get invited was still something unknown to her.

They had just passed the Great Hall when she spotted something out of the corner of her eye. Whatever it was, it was blond, Slytherin and very sketchy. _Malfoy_, she thought. She turned to face him but he was gone before he could see her. She looked to see if Lia was around, but they were alone in the Grand Staircase.

"C'mon, Mione. We'll be late." She turned around to see Ron and Harry down a flight of steps, waiting on her. She looked down at them, then back at the corridor Malfoy had escaped to. She turned once more to her friends.

"You two go, I'll be there soon. I just- I need to check on something." She began to follow in pursuit of the pure-blood prince down the corridor, leaving Harry and Ron behind. She could hear them shouting her name as she navigated the candle-lit hallways of the school. She managed to see him just as he turned a corner or went through a door. Eventually, she turned to find him gone. She looked around to see where he may have gone when saw one of the boys' bathrooms. She cursed under her breath, knowing she couldn't follow him inside. She turned to wait by the corner when she bumped into someone who seemingly appeared from the shadows. She was taken aback a little, then lifted her eyes to see the questioning gaze of Clavius Malfoy. Not Draco. She had been following the wrong Malfoy.

"I don't appreciate being stalked, Granger." He spoke, firmly but not hard. "If you haven't anything better to do, I'd suggest turning around. I thought you had a party to go to, though I'm not sure what's being celebrated."

She shifted under his glare but didn't think running would do any good. "I wasn't following you. I just.. I thought you were someone else." She admitted. He was still intimidating, but not as much as he was by the Great Hall. It was like he mellowed it down. He smirked and made to lean against the wall, taking a casual position for a prolonged discussion.

"You thought I was him." He said, crossing his arms in amusement. "You thought I was Draco." she pinked in embarrassment and he just chuckled. It wasn't unkind, it actually was quite a mature laugh. "I don't blame you. He's been said to look much like I was his age. He's rather thin, though, somehow hides that muscle. He once clung on to my broom and flew at least four feet off the ground for about two minutes. He was ten." His smile faltered a little as he left his reminiscent gaze and turned to her. "I know why you're here, and let me say it won't work. You don't care about Draco, you're not his friend, and therefore he cares less for you. He won't be privy to tell you anything, let alone things that matter." She frowned at this, becoming a little upset at how unfair it all was.

"What am I supposed to do?" She argued, regaining some of her Gryffindor nerve "Sit by and let him ignore his sister? I've heard Ginny tell me about her crying in the night. I've witnessed it myself." Clavius tensed but remained passive. He slid his hands into his pockets and placed a foot against the wall, pointing his knee outwards.

"I didn't say do nothing. I'm just saying maybe you need some incentive."

Hermione crossed her arms now, out of annoyance, if anything. "What incentive could I offer a pompous brat? He's just going to have to face the music and I'm going to-"

"Christ, Granger. Restrain that impulse of yours, will you?" He said impatiently, moving from his position on the wall. He walked over to her and checked his watch. He looked over at the boys' toilets and then back to Hermione, traces of determination in his eyes. "He's in there, I was following him as well. He usually spends time in there practicing some of the charms I teach him. Extra-curricular work, you know." He added upon seeing her disapproving expression. "He won't want to listen to you, but he'll listen to me. He'll listen to your piece while I'm with you, and perhaps we can get to the bottom of this whole situation."

"What situation?" A voice could be heard from the corner Hermione had entered. They turned to see a small red-headed girl with a tilted head in confusion. Her eyes widened upon seeing who she was talking to. "Hermione? Malfoy?"

"Ginny, what are you- why aren't you at the feast?" Hermione said, now worried at what her friend would say. Ginny looked between the two, confused as to why they were here.

"I was looking for someone. I heard he spends time around here." She responded. Albeit her tone was light, both students saw her fist tighten a little at the mention of _someone_, and they easily deduced who.

"I see my brother has quite a following," Clavius smirked. "And so young, as well. I thought for sure his looks wouldn't kick in until his fourth year, earliest."

"That's not why I'm following him." Ginny scowled. "If anything it's to shout some sense into him. Get back at how he's treated Lia. I mean, she's been-"

"Crying at night times, yes. Granger said as much." He frowned. It seemed that he wanted to put in a word as well. "He won't listen to you, Weasley. You might as well hang back and let the big kids do what they do." This comment confused Hermione. Was he not helping her do the same thing?

"I don't think so!" She bit, "I'm Lia's friend. I'm here to make her feel better."

"You've known her for less than time then your brother's known me. You have no business here." He snapped, eyes hardened on the girl in front of him. Hermione cast her eyes between the two. Where had this hostility come from? Tensions between Clavius and Ginny were rising quicker than she'd like. She just hoped that Malfoy would stay in the bathroom until things calmed down.

_Wait a minute_, she thought. _No, that can't be why._ She started to fume at the two. How could they be doing this now? How is this still going? She marched in right between her friend and her temporary ally, stopping the biting and snapping. She looked at them both and asked, rather loudly: "Do not say that you're arguing because of your family's feud."

The two of them looked at her with surprise, but neither answered. She crossed her arms once again. "It is, isn't it? I can't believe you two! Your sister is her best friend, your best friend is his sister! I mean, it's clear that you're not what people assume. Why don't you just give up this grudge and be civil?"

"Civil? You think the Weasleys would be civil with us?" He asked, incredulously, "The Weasley clan has only one purpose in our lives and it's to ruin us. They've tried over and over to make us the butt of the joke. And time and time again we've risen because we fight for what is needed." He glared at the little girl before him, who was just as fired up. Hermione could see a lot of Ron in the only girl. She couldn't see Draco in Clavius, though. He was much more controlled.

"It's not my fault Lia's brother's a liar and a cheat. I don't know how Lia managed survived so long, but he doesn't deserve her and neither do you."

"Whatever Draco is doing, no matter how wrong he is, the only reason he's doing it is for family-"

"Family?" Ginny yelled, unable to believe what she was hearing. "Family?! How can this be for family?! You're insane if you think this is for family! All he does is hurt people for selfish reasons and I won't stand for it!"

"Oh, and you think you're so noble?" He spat, the collected anger in him starting to simmer through. This outburst wasn't like Draco either, it was so dark. "You and your lot go around like you're some damned heroes, well I'm sick of it. You can take your 'goody-two-shoes' routine and throw it out the bloody window because I see the Weasleys for what they are; Liars."

"Leave my family alone, this isn't about them!" She argued. Clavius' frown weakened as if he'd run out of adrenaline.

"This was always about them, Ginevra. It's about us and you." He said, staring at the floor. There was a tone to his voice, and it was something between anguish and regret. "No matter what you or I do, the Malfoys and Weasleys can never be friends. And all because you see us as something we haven't been for a long time." He looked up to Hermione. "The villains."

At that moment, footsteps could be heard leaving the boys bathroom. All eyes turned to see blond hair and fine skin. Hermione moved next to Clavius, Ginny moved next to Hermione. This was the start of something that wouldn't end well for anyone.

"Weasley, perhaps we can save this for another date," Clavius said calmly, not taking his eyes off his brother.

"Yeah," She said menacingly, "I guess I can make an exception."

* * *

"It could have been any of them," Narcissa said, panicked. "And they may not even have it now. How are we going to make sure they're safe?"

Lucius had taken their business to his study. After they had found out it was missing they used location spells and magical fail-safes to locate the item but it was to no avail. The diary was missing. The Dark Lord's item of mayhem was loose in the school, and they had no method to locate it. He cursed himself again and again for being so careless. How could he have been so stupid? Had he just secured the cases better none of this would have happened. He said to the children that the dungeons were dangerous but he should have been more authoritative. He should have stopped this from happening. He should have done something.

"Lucius? Darling, please answer me." His wife beckoned. He turned to her with a face that resembled that of a lost man. His eyes were baggy from the sleepless nights of searching for a way to find it. His hair was slightly ruffled from the lack of time spent grooming it. But worse were his cheeks, which were stained with tears that hadn't been leaked in many, many years. His wife moved to him, slowly but fully. "Oh, Lucius.." she said quietly wrapping her arms around his neck. He buried his chin on her shoulder and they stood there, trying with all their might to find direction.

He had tried so hard to redeem himself. He had done so much for so long. He had sacrificed so much. After Clavius was born, they began their path of deterrence. When the war had ended, they had seen the error of their ways and started to help with reparations. But the Ministry came for them, for Lucius to be more precise, and the family would have been torn to pieces. They had accepted this and Lucius handed himself in willingly, stating that he wished justice for those that were hurt. So you could imagine his surprise, as well as great skepticism when a certain wizard had convinced the Minister to let Lucius go free. That had been a strange sight.

_**Eleven Years Prior**_

_Lucius sat in his holding cell at the Ministry of Magic. He just sat on the floor, back to the wall, staring at the other side of the concrete room with defeat in his eyes. He regretted so much. He hated what his idiotic beliefs had cost him and what he had done during the war. Sure, he tried to avoid it as much as possible, but there were times he had done heinous things to avoid his Lord's suspicion. He wasn't even a traitor at the time, he just wanted to be but was too much of a coward to do so. Out of all the things he regretted, though, the thing he regretted the most would be that he would never be a father for his children. Narcissa was already heavily pregnant with their third, how could she deal with that once he was shipped off to Azkaban? He would never be what they needed, just a failure who would never see Clavius' first wand, or Draco's first words, or his next son's first steps. He would watch from a distance as his children grew up and they would never know him as he wished to be; their father._

_He didn't leave his cynical trance when they gate opened and an elderly figure waltzed in. He didn't bother to recognize the face he saw out of the corner of his sight. He didn't until he saw that twinkle, that is. That 'damned twinkle' as Severus would say. Lucius rolled his head to his shoulder to see none other than Albus Dumbledore standing in his cell, his mouth forming a warm smile. Lucius squinted to see if he was hallucinating or just couldn't see properly. When he realized his vision was clear, he stood up quickly and backed towards the dark end of his cell, his chains clinking against the cold floor._

"_W-what do you want?" He stuttered, though hinted hostility in his raspy voice. "Haven't you done enough? You've already won, why must you come to gloat?" Dumbledore shook his head and laughed, a full-hearted laugh that may have been used around a friend. Lucius, distrusting and cautious, kept himself rooted against the wall as the Headmaster of Hogwarts sat on his cell bed._

"_It seems you're a little worse for wear, Lucius." He said, still smiling, "Perhaps it's time you left the shadows."_

"_And what would you know of my life?" Lucius spat back, not understanding what he wanted, "At the moment you can see I'm in no position to leave anywhere. You should know this, your Order was the one to put me here."_

"_And perhaps it's that same Order that can get you out."_

_Lucius narrowed his eyes calculatingly, still trying to figure the elderly man sat before him. What did he mean? He was offering help? And what did the Order of the Phoenix have anything to do with it? "Why have you come here?" He curiously asked._

"_I'm merely giving you an opportunity, my boy." He said. "I've seen you as of late, Lucius. You're not the same man that entered the war. No, you're a better man now. I'm giving you an opportunity to join the Order because I think both of us know you want the chance to redeem yourself, and the light side could use you as much as you could use it."_

_Lucius stared at him for a long while, thinking over the benefits and the less-desirable traits of joining the Order. It would help him redeem himself, he could get reconnection to the Ministry far easier and he would be supported by others who shared his new views on things._

_However, it would mean that he would be hunted by ex-death eaters who would see him as a traitor. He would be under Dumbledore's thumb, as a pawn in his game. And of course that all paled in comparison to heaving to deal with Weasley. The Dark Lord's wrath was better any day._

_All of this came down to one thing, however. He needed justice for those that were hurt._

"_No." He said firmly._

_Dumbledore simply lifted a brow. "No?"_

"_No." He said once more. "Thank you, Dumbledore. I understand that this must have been a difficult decision to make, and I am grateful you have decided to allow me a chance," He moved from his place on the wall and sat next to the wizard, planting his elbows on his knees and resting his chin on his fists, "but this? This is something I can't accept. It would be like cheating, using a loophole. I've spent too much of my life taking the coward's path, I need to face my trials head-on. So thank you, but I refuse to give up justice for those who deserve it so." He stared up at the wall and let out a sigh, coming just a tiny amount closer to acceptance of his fate. "Now if you don't mind, I have plenty of time on my hands and I'm not wasting it with you. Good day, Albus."_

_Dumbledore's smile didn't waver, although there was sadness to his face as he looked at the new man before him. He stood up and took his wand from his pocket. "I have always known love to be powerful magic, and yet I am still amazed at what it can do to even the darkest of people." He flicked his wrist, and with a simple bid of magic Lucius' cufflinks were opened. He looked at his arms and legs, feeling them to confirm he wasn't seeing things. He turned to Dumbledore, who stood by an opened cell door with a larger grin. The look on his face was spectacularly amusing._

"_Why?" He breathed, not able to say anything else. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled once again._

"_You were always going to leave here, Lucius. I just wanted the opportunity to ask you to join the Order. This is but courtesy of a friend of yours, you owe me nothing. I had hoped that I could use you, but if you wish to find your own path to redemption, I will not stop you. Just know that, despite what you think, you can find the justice they deserve with your love, not their hate." He turned and walked into the free world, and Lucius did the same thing. He made to leave the cell, but Dumbledore had managed to disappear. He had many questions, but he supposed that time would answer them better than he ever could. Once his clothes, items, and wand were returned to him he found a pregnant Narcissa and a relieved Severus holding his baby boys. Narcissa put Clavius down and ran to her husband faster than an expecting woman really should. She flung her arms around him and sobbed joyful tears as his eldest clung to his leg excitedly. _

"_I thought I lost you.." She barely said as she sobbed into his chest. He smiled thankfully and just stood while she let all her relief out. Once they had composed themselves Severus had joined in and given him a sturdy hug while holding Draco, and they then returned to Malfoy Manor to get some well deserved. Lucius kept making plans, however, and once his wife went into labor, he knew he would have to begin work of redemption soon._

_Cissa was in labor for a whole sixteen hours. When Clavius was born, Lucius was in another part of the house drinking tea. He wasn't the same person that he was now. Lucius stood there, blissful and awestricken, when he held a little girl in his arms. He never expected a girl. He just stared at the adorable thing in his arms, the warmth in his eyes causing her to settle into a soft sleep. He looked to his wife with tears in his eyes, something he'd done very little of in his life._

"_What shall we name her?" She asked, smiling weakly as she had just gone through hellish pain, "I thought about Aquila, after the constellation, but I have a feeling you would want to name her."_

"_Ophelia." He said quietly, not taking his eyes off his precious girl. "I want to call her Ophelia." Upon seeing his wife's questioning gaze, he blushed a little and said, "Well, I- It's a name from a... From a muggle play, Hamlet. Ophelia is a pure and innocent soul." He lowered his head in shame. "But of course if you- I only thought it was a good name. If you don't want it I completely-"_

"_I love it." She whispered, gripping his free hand. "Ophelia is a wonderful name." She looked at her daughter, the only daughter she had. "I want to name her after Meda, as well."_

_Lucius smiled, and cast one arm around his wife, while the other held his Ophelia. He stared at the child intently. "Ophelia Andromeda Aquila Malfoy. Welcome to your home."_

Both Malfoys turned to the door when they heard it open, and composed themselves. In stepped Severus, tired and discontent. He slumped into one of the chairs and thread his hands through his hair in an effort to think.

"It's not enough." He managed to say, his voice weak from lack of hope. "There's nothing I can do to find it with magic. I was hoping that I would be able to locate it and then take it without any of them noticing, but that doesn't seem an option anymore. We're going to have to involve them sooner than later. If we find the diary, we have to take it back before it does whatever it is it's supposed to do. Afterward, we get it to the Ministry as soon as possible." He stood up and walked over to the decanter of brandy on Lucius' desk. He poured a hefty amount into a cup and downed it like he was due to die the next day. Narcissa bowed her head, and Lucius walked over to him.

"Thank you, Severus. You have done so much for us, I don't know how to repay you. All I can do is ask if I can help. Please, Severus, I must be able to do something."

"You have done what you can, Lucius. You don't need to thank me." His friend said with a reassuring arm on his shoulder.

"But I must be able to do something. I can go to the school on, uh, onboard business and help look. I'm sure that my children will listen to me if I-"

"I'm not sure if that will be a help or hindrance," Snape said, concerned. "Especially considering Ophelia's... Situation." Lucius blinked. He blinked again. So did Narcissa.

"Situation? What situation?" she asked. Severus looked at the two of them as if they'd turned into Peeves the Poltergeist.

"I mean, what else do you want me to call it? I mean we certainly never expected for her to end up where she is, she might be afraid if you just suddenly show up at Hogwarts."

"Afraid of what, Severus?" Lucius asked, become a tad insistent. What could Lia be so afraid of? Severus looked at him questioningly when his eyebrows shot up in epiphany. Then he looked concerned.

"She didn't tell you, did she?" He asked. The Malfoy couple turned to each other, then back to their friend. Whatever was going on, they had a feeling it would make their diary search many times more complicated. "Ophelia is... She was placed into Gryffindor House."

"What?" Lucius exclaimed. His daughter was a Gryffindor and he wasn't told. He looked at his wife for her reaction, and she was searching Severus for more.

"So she's a Gryffindor? That can't be all. I mean, I understand that she may have wanted to be a Slytherin, but she wouldn't hide this from us. She knows we love her more than that, doesn't she?" She was looking at Lucius as she said this. He nodded truthfully, he couldn't care less about houses. His daughter meant more to him than that.

"There is more," Severus began, "but it is not my place to disclose it. If you wish to discover the truth, you may accompany me to school another date. At this moment, however, I must begin the search for the diary myself. I shall attempt to keep it under wraps, but I may bring in some help if I feel the need. No, not before I tell you, Cissa. Now, I must be off. There is currently a feast and I may have time to search your sons' dorm rooms before they return."

He went for the room's fireplace, taking a fistful of floo powder and saying "Hogwarts, Headmaster's office." before disappearing in a mist of green smiled warmly and left to make some tea. Lucius, alone in his study, sat down at his Ebony desk and began to write some letters to the rest of the school board. He was not going to just sit around and wait, no matter what Severus said. He was going to go to Hogwarts and save his children.

Even if he discovered things about them that were less than ideal.

* * *

_This is worse than Dudley's ninth birthday_, Harry thought dryly. So far the only thing remotely interesting was the exit. Nearly-Headless Nick seemed to be having less fun than they were due to that Sir Patrick. Maybe the feast would have been a better idea.

After Peeves started making fun of a sulky girl in Ravenclaw uniform and she burst into tears, Harry could once again hear the mysterious voice he heard during his detention with Lockhart.

_Rip… tear… kill_

Harry's senses sharpened and he surveyed the room, trying to spot where it was coming from. Ron saw his friends heightened nerves and became just as worried.

"Harry? What's wrong?" He asked his best friend. Harry just darted his eyes around the room, trying to spot where the noise had come from.

"It's that voice again- shut up a minute-"

_So hungry… for so long…_

"Listen," He said. Ron just watched him, frozen. That wasn't helping.

_Kill … time to kill … _

Was it moving upwards? How can it? "This way!" He shouted as he ran out of the room. He ran out of the party room and found himself in the entrance hall. It was too loud to hear it from there since the feast was still going on. He began to keep going when he bumped into two familiar Ravenclaws and one Slytherin.

"What the- Harry?" Anthony Goldstein said surprised. Blaise was eyeing the two distrustfully and Mandy was scowling at Ron, still not over the incident. Harry wasn't bothered to deal with them, pushing past Anthony lightly to find that voice again. Ron was quickly behind, and the three decided to see what they were following.

"Harry, what are we-"

"SHH!"

… _I smell blood… I SMELL BLOOD!_

"It's going to kill someone" He shouted in horror. Ron's moment of bewilderment was cut short as Anthony bumped into him, causing a domino effect with Mandy and Blaise. They were far behind Harry as he ran around the entire second floor, not stopping a second for a breath. As they made the final turn down the corner, Harry made came to a halt.

Written on the wall, out of the blood of what Harry assumed was a dead animal, were words that he didn't understand and yet still feared:

**THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED.  
****ENEMIES OF THE HEIR BEWARE.**

He stood wide-eyed as the others caught up behind him, finally stopping to get some rest.

"What in Merlin's name was that about, Potter?" Blaise huffed, completely out of breath. "What did you mean it was going to-"

"Oh my, Look!" Mandy gasped.

While Harry stared at the words, confused, Blaise seemed to have been scared slightly, although he hid it well. Ron looked as confused as he was before, and Mandy's eyes kept glazing over the dead animal.

"What is it?" Anthony asked, cringing at the sight of the blood, "You think it's a squirrel or something?"

Ron squinted "It looks like … I think it might be Filch's cat."

"What, Mrs. Norris? If it is then we need to get out of here before someone catches us here. Especially Filch himself."

The four turned to leave but students had found their way from the feast. Blaise quickly grabbed them and pushed them near the wall.

"Quick, act like you just got here." He hissed and turned to face the writing with a shocked expression. The others did the same, and when people started to show up the attention laid off them. For a minute.

"What happened?" A Ravenclaw student questioned. There were murmurs in the crowd as people started to speculate.

"Clearly, something bad." Blaise drawled but kept his expression fixed. The students started to mumble among themselves when one came to the front.

"He was here before everyone else." He pointed at Harry accusingly, "Clearly it was him. A sort of practical joke or such."

"We were right behind him. We can vouch." Ron said to Harry's defense. The boy narrowed his eyes are folded his arms.

"And who is we? You're the only one with him. How do we know you aren't an accomplice this?

"Because we were there, too," Anthony spoke up bitterly, his two friends to his side. They didn't look happy. "You gonna accuse us too, Zachy?

The Hufflepuff's eyes went from narrow to wide at seeing the three of them defending someone they shouldn't even like. Harry could sense that there was bad blood between them and decided to stay uninvolved if he could. But the tension would remain unresolved as Filch made his way through the students, only to find his precious cat hanging by its legs.

"You've murdered my cat!" He cried, shooting daggers at Harry, "I'll kill ya. I'll kill ya!"

* * *

The four of them stood in that corridor in silence for what seemed like endless hours into the night. Draco eyed the others guardedly, he could sense it would three against one. He slipped his charms book into his bag and stared at his brother, who was glaring back just as expectantly.

"Making friends, Clavius?" Draco said sarcastically. Clavius just stood there calmly, not wanting to aggravate his little brother.

"I want to talk, Draco." He said smoothly, sliding his hands into his trouser pocket. Draco saw the scowl on Weasley's face, as well as the frown on Granger's. It didn't take him long to figure out what could cause them to unite in this way, and when he did he started to sweat. He didn't want to have this conversation. He knew that Lia wanted to see him but he was steadfast in what he thought, what he knew.

Knowing he wasn't going to be able to avoid the topic for long, he decided to get in the first words. "Whatever complaints you have, you can take them up with the giant squid because I don't care. I'm doing what's necessary."

"Necessary? How in the world is this necessary?!" Ginny screamed, much to Draco's confusion. "She's miserable! How can making your sister feel isolated and alone be even considered necessary?!"

"Please calm down, Ginny. It will only make him less reasonable." Hermione warned before turning back to face him. "But yes, Ophelia has been in a terrible place recently. She may not be anywhere near it now, but I can see her deteriorating physically if she keeps changing at the current rate. I don't know why, but your absence has caused a large shift in her mental health."

"Big words for a small book-worm." He retorted, "Why do you even care? You're not her friend, and you're certainly not mine either. And he-" He nodded to Clavius, "-is more likely to manipulate you than me."

Ginny's eyes flickered to Clavius in distrust but quickly turned back to Draco. her problems with siding with a Malfoy were clear, but it was fighting fire with fire, he guessed.

"You need to stop this." She said, "The only way this will go down is with her getting hurt. It doesn't get better, it just hurts more."

"And what would you know about it? You get to live your life happily carefree. That's what your family convinces itself, right?"

"Don't talk about them. You don't know anything about us." She said, irritated but plain.

"Don't I? Well tell me then, Weasel, how could you possibly understand what goes on between us? How could you anything?"

She stared at him passively, then turned her gaze to the floor and mumbled something. Hermione looked to her with concern, and even Clavius' features loosened at whatever she had said.

"Speak up, Weasley. Did you cast a silencing charm or what?"

She huffed and then said, "It's happening to me too." She looked back up to face him, and she had gone from seething to sad. This knotted Draco's stomach slightly.

"My brother's are…they love me, I know. But they're so busy with themselves that they don't really have time for me. I mean, Percy's all uptight about his prefect duties and the twins are busy making mischief. Ron and I, well he's the only one he sees Lia and me as close. The others don't see us that often and just sway it as being civil. Ron hates me being friends with her and I…I thought you might be different." She admitted, her head still hanging. Whether in shame or defeat, he didn't know.

"When you l-let me sit next to her on the t-train you weren't harsh or mean. You even let me sit d-down and you smiled at her as you left. I guess we t-thought that meant you didn't mind, that you thought my red hair and last name didn't matter. But I g-guess we were wrong. I-I was wrong." Her voice was trembling with the pain she had hidden from her friends, and the knot in Draco's stomach became so much tighter. He hadn't known that she was so alone, so afraid. She had always seemed to be just timid or shy, but this sounded much worse. Was this what Lia was feeling? How could he have let this happen? His eyes flickered to Granger, who had been staring at a face that showed how guilty and sorry he felt. He shook his head and tried to control himself, then looked over to the small first year.

"You're not wrong, Weasley. But you're not right either." He sighed. "You just- you wouldn't understand. I have to stay away from her. There's no discussion and you can't convince me otherwise. So do yourself a favour and go back to the Halloween feast, there's nothing for you here."

"Why?" Clavius questioned abruptly, just as Draco made to leave. He raised an eyebrow at his older brother, who was staring holes into him. "I know you, Draco. What made you decide this? What happened?" It was like he was in his head. He was fairly certain he wasn't a Legilimens, but his eyes were deep in search for something, an answer to his questions. He seemed to have found something as his eyes widened. "Oh."

Draco scowled and started to walk off. He was tired of this interrogation and wanted to get back to his dorm room. "Draco," his brother called out to him, "you're wrong about this, you know. It wouldn't matter to her, it would all be worth it."

Draco stood for a moment, registering the words. He sighed heavily and then strode off, not even turning to face him. Clavius stood there quietly, and Hermione and Ginny watched him. They didn't understand, what had he seen? Clavius turned to the two, his face neutral. "He's not going to let this go. You're playing the long game now." And with that, he headed back to the Great Hall and the feast. Hermione and Ginny just stood there, thinking. Ginny was the first to speak.

"What can we do?" She said, looking to Hermione for help. Hermione just took her hand and hugged her.

"We can only wait and see." She said quietly.


End file.
